Kako mogu ja, ako ne može jutro, toplo Sunce probuditi? (on hiatus)
by angel-winged0130
Summary: Sequel to Another Raindrop in the Sky. A year after the betrayal of her best friend, Merri Rafter returns to camp slightly different than before. When she discovers another of her father's secrets and Thalia's tree is poisoned, she will face challenges deadlier than ever before and make a choice that might determine her fate in the upcoming war.
1. Alpha

**Title translation: "How can I, if the morning cannot, awaken the warm Sun?"**

 **Okay people I'm back with more Merri! Yaaaaay!**

 **Since I'm sure nobody read the AN posted in the previous story I'll say it here. This story takes place during the Sea of Monsters but will be based upon the book rather than the movie because I finally got the books, but because the previous story followed the movie I decided to make a strange mix of both the movie and book versions of the story so it could all make some sense.**

 **Okay then, on with the story.**

ΩΩΩ

There are more than a few things Merri hates or dislikes, and one of them just happens to be uninvited visitors. As fate would like it, she was unfortunate enough to move into an apartment across from Ash, who simply _adored_ barging into her place and raiding her fridge, all the while talking her ear off as she tries her hardest to study. The fact that he was doing just that while she was studying for a chemistry exam she had _tomorrow_ was even more annoying.

Ash was sprawled all over _her_ couch, a bag of _her_ Doritos in his lap, as wild gestures followed _another_ of his pointless stories about a date he'd gone on at some point in time. Merri sat cross-legged in her big chair, next to the fireplace (yes, her place even had a fireplace. Nana and Gramps really went all the way when finding her a place.), a thick book open on her lap, her green eyes trying but failing at concentrating on the words. She felt a vein pop on her forehead and her eye twitch in annoyance. Ash seemed completely unfazed by the murderous glare she was shooting at him, and simple proceeded to munch on the Doritos.

She'd first met Ash at a bookstore she often went to, about three months ago. He'd approached her asking for help in finding a particular book he needed for class. With how much time she spent in the store, Merri was fairly familiar with the way the books were organized, so she showed him to where the book was. After paying for the book, he asked her out on a drink, to which she declined saying she was currently too busy to go out. He's seemed to have taken the rejection alright and she left it at that, expecting not to run into him ever again. Imagine her surprise when the following day, he approached her again but this time, in the campus lounge.

As luck would have it, they went to the same school. Ash was a third-year and was majoring in English literature. For a week he kept on pestering her about going out with him until she threatened to break his nose after what he cooled down with the dating thing, but kept hanging around her until they formed a kind of a friendship. Well, he thought of it as friendship, she insisted they were only acquaintances and neighbours (since it turned out he even lived across the hall from her). Apparently, Ash was sensitive about his appearances, his face in particular.

"Ash," she sighed in annoyance after he'd started on the third story. "As interesting as it sounds, I really don't have time to listen to how another one of your dates fell through. I have a test I need to study for tomorrow and I need some quiet to do so." She shot him a desperate puppy-eye look in hopes he would finally leave.

He seems to understand as he nodded and got off her couch, taking the half empty bag of Doritos with him. "Well, if that's the case, then why didn't you say so?"

"I did," she deadpanned. "You just didn't listen."

Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, his fingers tangling themselves in his thick, unruly brown hair. "Sorry. Guess I should pay more attention next time."

"That would depend on whether or not I'll be willing to let you come in the next time you come. I might start locking the doors from now on."

The panicked look that crossed his face was priceless. "Please, not that!" He even got down in his knees and grovelled as he pleaded with her. "How will I survive without food?! Are you really that heartless Mer?"

"The same way you've survived for the past 22 years, Ash." She leaned on her elbow with a small smirk on her face, her sea-green eyes twinkling with mirth. "Besides, the sooner you leave, the smaller the chance of me taking such course of action."

Without a word, Ash leaped to his feet and, in a matter of seconds, was out of her apartment, leaving a satisfied Merri behind. She sighed and pulled her hair back in a messy bun before padding barefoot into her kitchen and putting the kettle for the tea on. She'd decided on green tea for today. While she waited for the water to boil, she let her gaze travel over her apartment.

The place was a comfy two-bedroom place with a balcony and a parking place in the price. In addition, it was close to the campus - it was only 20 minutes by foot - and there was a park Merri went jogging in nearby. It was decorated in a cross between Victorian and contemporary styles, with light coloured walls and hardwood floors and moulding. The stainless steel kitchen with a dining area and balcony access crossed into the living room via an archway. The centre on the room was the large stone fireplace surrounded with couches, chairs and a coffee table, and housed a bunch of picture frames with photos of Merri, her siblings, family, and Luke...

No matter how much his betrayal hurt her, Merri couldn't force herself to get rid of those photos. Most were taken at camp and contained some of her favourite memories, and there was a few that were taken during the rare times Luke had visited her in Seattle. There were even more in various photo albums she had on her bookshelf in the apartment and in the house in Seattle as well as in a small shoebox she kept under her bed.

By far her favourite picture on the fireplace was the one that had been taken last Christmas. In it, she was grinning ear-to-ear as she had her arms around a dark-haired teenaged boy and a red-haired man, all three of them had identical sea-green eyes. On the picture were Merri, her younger half-brother Percy - whom she'd first met last summer - and her father Poseidon. It was taken by her mum after her long program routine at her Christmas ice-skating recital.

After discovering she had a brother that summer, Merri thought it would be nice for them to get to know each other. With that purpose, she'd invited Percy and Sally, his mum, to come and stay with her family in Seattle for Christmas. She didn't really expect them to accept the invitation, so it came as a pleasant surprise when, a day or two before Christmas, she opened the door to find them at her doorstep, suitcases in hands. Jane, Merri's mum, took with open hands and quickly set to prepare them two of the spare bedrooms in the house. The Jacksons stayed with them until after the New Year, getting acquainted with Merri's family.

The biggest surprise, however, came in the form of another unexpected visitor on Christmas, during Merri's skating recital.

Just before she entered the rink, she was greeted by Poseidon, her father. It was the first time she'd seen him since their meeting at the beginning of the summer. Merri had invited him to come to her recital while she was in Olympus but she hadn't of expected him to actually show up.

She smiled at the memory and turned back to her tea. With a mug of the fragrant hot beverage in her hands and her textbook under arm, the daughter of Poseidon made way to her bedroom. She put her book down on her desk and sat down on the window seat, all the while slowly sipping her mint tea.

'It looks like rain,' she thought gazing through the glass. The sky was filled with clouds of dark grey, the wind was blowing through the arm-like branches of the trees, carrying dust, litter and leaves in its wake. There wasn't any lightning in the sky yet, but Merri could feel the low rumble of thunder deep in her bones. 'Lord Zeus must be angry about something, again. I wonder if it's anything Percy or I did.' Pulling her knees closer to her chest, she pressed her palm against the cool glass, her green eyes following the movement of her digits.

She sat there, sipping on her tea, for an hour or so, until the coolness of the storm started seeping into her bones through her skin. Merri got up and put on a navy blue hoodie over her tank top and padded back into the kitchen after pulling on a pair of thick fluffy socks. She threw herself on the couch and turned on the TV, Bonanza was on. Deciding she had nothing better to do, she settled into her seat and set onto watching the old show. If she spent any more time studying, she was going to give herself a migraine. Besides, it was already 10:30 and she had to get up early.

ΩΩΩ

'All that's left now is hope it all goes well,' Merri thought as she was leaving campus the next day. She hoisted the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and sped up her pace in hopes she would manage to get back home before a new downpour started. Of course, the Fates didn't work in her favour and she was ambushed from behind by a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her neck and a familiar voice squealing in her ear.

"Hellllloooooooo Mer!"

"Hey, Claire," she greeted her ambusher with considerably less zeal. "How're you doing?" Claire untangled her arms from Merri's neck and took a step back, her bright blonde locks jumping around her grinning face.

"Oh, I'm fantastic!" the blonde squealed. "It's _such_ a nice day today, don't you think?" she crossed her arms behind her back and tilted her head making herself look younger than she actually was.

"If you consider the constant chance of rain, then, yes the day is nice." Merri nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other, all the while glancing at the steadily darkening sky. "How about we continue this at my place," she suggested. "I'm dine with school for the day and was about to go home and make some lunch and it would be no problem to make some for you if you'd like some."

"That would depend on what you were planning on making," Claire retorted with a sly smile on her crimson coloured lips.

"Pear, blue cheese and walnut salad. Something light since I'll be going to the gym later."

Claire contemplated for a moment before answering, "I'm in!"

ΩΩΩ

The walk back went by fast and in silence. Claire practically skipped by Merri's side, her blonde curls bouncing with every move and her baby pink dress danced around her knees in the breeze. They climbed up to the second floor where Merri unlocked the door and let Claire in. While Merri was hanging up her jacket and taking her bag to the kitchen, Claire took the chance to walk around her living room, looking over the pictures on the fireplace.

"You know," Merri heard Claire say while she was taking out the ingredients from the fridge, "I've known you almost a year now and this is the first time I've been to your place."

Merri started cutting up the pears. "You never asked to come."

A few minutes later, as Merri was setting the plates on the counter, Claire walked in with two frames in her hands. "You have some questions you need to answer me, young lady." The way she was tapping her foot reminded Merri of her mum and the way she would always cross her arms over her chest and tap her high-heel clad foot whenever she did something bad.

"What did I do wrong this time, mummy?" Merri teased back with a smirk while searching her kitchen for the forks.

Claire heaved an annoyed sigh. "You never told me you had a boyfriend, Mer!" she exclaimed. "You don't keep that kind of a guy a secret from your best friend."

Merri looked at her, confusion etched in the crease between her dark eyebrows. "What're you talking about, Claire? What boyfriend?"

"I'm talking about this!" Claire showed Merri one of the photos she'd taken off the mantle. It was her senior prom photo, and the guy Claire thought was Merri's boyfriend was her date. "I never thought you'd catch that kind of a guy with your attitude. You're just so cold. Like ice." She seemed proud of her comparison. "When was this even taken?"

Merri plucked the photo from Claire's hands and put it face down a few inches away from her plate. The salad didn't seem as appetising to her anymore. "The guy you're talking about is Luke," she answered with a sigh as she mournfully stabbed at her dish. "The picture was taken at my senior prom, he was my date."

"Ah, so I was right! He is your boyfriend!" Claire clapped her hands together like a child. For a 20-year-old, she sometimes acted like she was 12, and this moment was no different. "How long've you two been going out?"

"Contrary to what you believe, Luke was not my boyfriend. He and I used to be best friends."

Claire frowned. "Used to be? And you're not friends anymore?"

"No."

"Why? You both look so happy in this photo and it must've been taken less than a year ago. What could've happened that you're not friends anymore?"

"Sometimes things happen for a reason and there's nothing we can do about it." The sad look in Merri's eyes made Claire recoil a bit, but not enough for the redhead to notice. "Some things happened - things I don't want to discuss, so let's just leave it at that."

"Okay..." Claire murmured and returned her attention to her dish.

For a few moments, the duo ate in silence. The only sound being the light scraping of the forks on the ceramic plates as they speared their food. Merri's muscles started relaxing - she wasn't even aware she'd tensed up - and her mind started trailing away from the memories of her prom night.

After they'd eaten, Merri and Claire chatted a bit more about some meaningless crap. To be honest, Merri wasn't even really paying attention to what the blonde was telling her. She just nodded and hummed at appropriate pauses and let Claire carry the conversation like in most cases. It occurred to Merri that she tended to befriend talkative people because she didn't feel like leading a conversation, gladly letting someone else take the reins. No, Merri preferred to listen, only giving her input when she felt it was necessary. She and her little brother, Seth, were a lot alike in that department.

ΩΩΩ

It wasn't more than an hour later that Claire had left Merri's place. She had to get back home and change for her shift.

Claire worked as a waitress in a small family restaurant across town. Despite being from a fairly wealthy family, she wasn't against working. Whatever money she earned as a waitress, she used as her allowance while her folks payed her tuition and her apartment. Claire's attitude towards work was what Merri liked about her the best.

After washing the dishes, Merri changed into a teal t-shirt and some comfy grey sweats before stuffing a change of clothes, towels, gym shoes and a water bottle in her red and gold gym bag. She laced up her signature red chucks and put on a black hoodie, locking up her place and going towards her Impala for the short drive to her gym.

She should call Percy soon and see how he's doing. Since they'd met and learned that they were siblings, Merri and Percy had slowly gotten closer over the course of last summer. They discovered some common interests they had, she showed him how to properly ride a horse and a Pegasus, and she showed him the trick for studying she used during high-school in hopes it would help him with getting important information into his half-blooded head. They spent most days training and she showed him how she was able to control water and other liquids with such ease while it took great toll on him. After parting at the end of the summer, the two had promised to stay in contact - a promise both managed to hold up. Every week they would skype each other and spend hours ranting about one thing or the other.

Merri parked in front of a modern red-walled building with large glass windows. The neon green glowing sign said 'Jason's gym champions'. Not the most subtle name, but not the cheesiest she'd seen either. She went to her locker in the back, greeting the receptionist, Jake, with a wave on the way. She usually frequented the gym when it was too cold or wet to train outside, she didn't want to be out of shape when she went back to camp in the summer. The only downside of going to a mortal gym was not being able to work on her weapon skills but she made do with her usual training regime.

First, it was fifteen minutes of stretching her muscles followed by half an hour of running at various paces and angles of ascent. After her running, she hit the climbing wall, climbing it three times, measuring her time to see if there was any improvement with her speed, before going to the pool for some laps. The pool was more for her relaxation than training, seeing how the water energized her and removed any signs of muscle fever and exhaustion.

Finishing her last lap in the pool a two hours later, Merri stopped for a moment and let herself float on the water. Closing her eyes, she dove down to the bottom where she curled up in a little ball and observed the fluorescent lighting on the ceiling. Her auburn hair floated around her head making her resemble Disney's version of the Little Mermaid. Last summer, her once ginger red hair had started to darken in colour after she met Percy and she had expected it to turn completely black as it would be the second time it had done so. Merri was born with blonde hair streaked with black and red. When she turned seven, and after she came to camp for the first time, it had changed into red with black and blonde streaks, staying so for eleven years before starting to darken. So it came as a bit of a surprise to the demi-goddess when it remained red, albeit a darker shade.

She pushed herself off the side wall and proceeded to gently glide through the liquid surrounding her, letting the muffled silence fill her ears and calm her further. When she'd decided it was time to go home, it was already eight and night was falling. With her hair still slightly damp, Merri drove herself back to her apartment to start packing. In two days, she was going back to camp, for her twelfth summer as a half-blood and her second as the daughter of Poseidon.

ΩΩΩ

 **I edited the chapter due to all the grammar and spelling errors, I don't have grammar check on my phone so I missed it while I was typing.**

 **(edit: September 2nd, 2015)**


	2. Beta

**Thank you all who've favorited and followed this story. It really means a lot.**

 **Also, there's a poll on my profile I'd like you all to check out. It concerns where I would be putting an end to Merri's story. Please leave a review and, as usual, no flames.**

 **To Qoheleth: I know the line sounds absurd but it's the truth. I don't know if you've read the books (I'm not being mean or anything here), but in the PJO universe, you're considered an unclaimed half-blood until your godly parent publicly claims you as their offspring. Merri was only claimed by Poseidon last summer even though she knew he was her father for the majority of her life. Still, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest of the story to come.**

ΩΩΩ

By late afternoon the next day, Merri was well on her way to Long Island. Most of the near 4 hour long drive was behind her and she was currently sitting up on the deck of the ferry, listening to her iPod, singing the song under her breath and simply enjoying the feel of the salty breeze and warm sun on her face. Before she'd left Boston, she'd asked Mrs. Landsbury, her elderly landlady, to water what little plants she had in her apartment and to take care of her cat, Lucy. While the woman immediately accepted the task of caring for Lucy, the blond Norwegian Forest cat was not as pleased with her accommodations and spent almost half an hour trying to somehow sneak into one of her owner's bags with no success.

Merri pointed her green eyes onto the horizon and watched the rolling waves with detached interest just as her track changed to Aimer's LAST STARDUST, a track from the anime Fate/stay night: Unlimited blade works and she hummed the words.

 _Furishikiru tsuyoi ame_  
 _Egaita yume no hate_  
 _Furueru kata nurashi_  
 _Aruki tsuzuketa_

 _Surikireta chiisana te_  
 _Sukima wo umeru made_  
 _Iro no kieta kioku_  
 _Hiroi atsumeta_

Alright, now would be a good moment to mention that, despite her great love for old rock classics, Merri is by no means immune to the catchyness of anime tracks and has quite an assortment of music from her favorite shows and movies. If anyone asked, she blames her uncle Cole for her addiction.

 _Kizutsuku no ga_  
 _Sadame da to shite mo_  
 _Kokoro wa mada iro wa hanatsu_  
 _Sayonara Judas_  
 _Hai ni nare_

 _Dust to dust_  
 _Itsuka no yowasa e_

 _Kizu darake no_  
 _Garasu no kokoro ga_  
 _Wasurekaketa netsu wo tomosu_  
 _Saigo no Stardust maiagare_

 _Dust to dust, ash to ash_

 _Kanata e_  
 _Negai no hahen yo towa e_

 _ΩΩΩ_

Following her disembarking from the ferry, Merri proceeded to drive herself straight to the camp. Thinking back on it, this would be the fist time she came to camp alone. Previous years, her mum, Jane, would fly to New York with her and then drive her there. This year Merri was on the East Coast for the most of the year and so came by herself.

She parked her Impala next to the bus that was occasionally used to transport campers to and from camp. The thing was usually driven by Argus, a large blond guy with most of his body covered by eyes. He never spoke which prompted a rumor that he had an eye on his tongue as well. Merri shivered every time she thought of that.

Merri locked her car after grabbing the two large bags of stuff she'd brought. Not all of it were her clothes and comics (and graphic novels, of course) but also some small gifts she's brought for Percy, Grover and Annabeth.

The camp hadn't changed much since last summer, she noted. The cabins still formed the U around the fire. The dining pavilion still had no roof above it making her wonder for the thousandth time how it never rained during lunch, before she remembered that the weather was controlled within the barrier surrounding the entire camp.

The only visible difference was that Cabin 3 now actually looked lived in with not one, but two Poseidon's children; both of whom were claimed the year before.

Percy was made cabin counselor, despite Merri being a camper longer than he was, because he was claimed before her. Not that she minded. Unlike her, Percy was a natural leader and more charismatic than she was. She was more suited for following orders than making them.

She dumped her bags at the foot of her bunk, the one closest to the back window, and went to the bathroom to freshen up a bit. After splashing some cold water on her face, Merri tied her hair in a messy braid down her back and took off her hoodie, leaving her in a white tank, jean shorts and her red chucks.

On her thigh was a nasty jagged pale line while her forearms sported light burn scars, both results of her fight with Luke last summer when he fired Zeus' master bolt at her and she was too slow to defend herself. The line on her leg throbbed during sudden weather changes. She, also, had greatly reduced sense of touch on the burned expanse of her arms. Merri was just glad her hands had no leftover damage since they got the worst of the burn.

Tired, Merri threw herself on top of the covers. She was asleep before she even hit the pillow.

ΩΩΩ

She awoke after an unknown amount of time to the sound of loud crashes and the yelling of other campers. Presuming it was some kind of an exercise devised by Chiron, Merri took her sweet time getting off her bed and stretching. A quick glance to the small clock next to her bed told her she was only asleep for about two hours. Swapping her shorts for a pair of cargo pants, Merri exited the cabin and was met with a completely unexpected sight.

The campers were fighting two elephant-sized bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill and, to make matters worse, the bulls just had to breathe fire. The real problem, however, was the fact that the bulls were raging around the great pine tree. The magical boundaries around the camp were supposed to stop any kind of monster from passing Thalia's tree and entering camp grounds and, yet, here were these overgrown metal cows basically running circles around the tree all the while fighting off about a dozen of armed campers.

"They just had to breathe fire," Merri grumbled to herself and started marching in the direction of the battle.

A gruff, female voice Merri had no problem recognizing, shouted, "Border patrol, to me!" The words slightly confused Merri. 'Since when do we have border patrol.'

The voice Merri heard belonged to none other than Clarisse La Rue, a buff daughter of Ares with stringy brown hair and a penchant for wearing camouflage clothes. She was, in addition, one of the camp's biggest bullies and mostly liked to torment Percy with the help of her siblings, the reason remaining a mystery to Merri. Supposedly had something to do with a toilet but she wasn't completely certain. Still, Clarisse liked to stay away Merri after the redhead broke her nose a few years back.

Seeing Clarisse's warriors scattering and running about in panic, Merri sighed to herself. The brunette was fighting one of the bulls with a broken spear, the other end jammed into the joint of the animal's shoulder. There was one guy running in circles and doing his best impression of a windmill while the horse-hair plume on top of his helmet burned like a fiery Mohawk.

Concentrating, Merri summoned a large amount of water from the surrounding grass, trees and, even, the air. As the liquid circled her reminiscent of transparent tentacles, the vegetation turned brown and dry. She focused on compressing the water into seven bowling-ball-sized orbs, which floated around her, and tapped one of the charms on her bracelet, turning it into a sword and ran up the hill in Clarisse's direction. The brunette was organizing her troops into a phalanx but, unfortunately, only mustered six campers while the other four were still running around.

Annabeth appeared from the other side of the hill and started taunting one of the bulls into chasing her before promptly pulling out her baseball cap and turning invisible, completely confusing the bull. The other bull was charging at Clarisse at deadly speed, opening its hinged mouth and sending a column of flames at the phalanx. As the warriors were trying to hold their positions, the other bull lost interest in chasing Annabeth around and turned on Clarisse's unprotected side.

In that moment, Merri could've sworn she heard Percy yell a warning at Clarisse, startling the girl. Without thinking, Merri sent three of her condensed water-orbs flying at the second bull with break-neck speed, the force of their blow sending the bull flying through the air and it landed a few yards away on its side. The first bull still breathed fire at the phalanx, the shields of the campers turning red from the heat before they started melting off their arms. Startled, the warriors dropped their weapons and ran for it while the second bull got back on its feet and ran right back in for the kill, the target being Clarisse.

While Merri was busy blasting water at the first bull in an attempt to keep it at bay, Percy passed his sister's side, grabbed Clarisse by her armor and dragged her out of the second bull's path. As the bull passed them, Percy swung Riptide and cut a gash in the bull's flank. Sadly,the thing merely creaked and kept going. Merri would've kept a closer eye on her brother if she didn't already have her hands full with the bronze monstrosity before her.

As the first bull was making a wide arc and aiming itself at Percy, slightly slowing down as it neared the invisible protective line before breaking through it and continuing on, Merri tapped another one of the charms on her bracelet, the sword in her hand swapping place with a bronze bo-staff she expertly twirled in her hands, four of her orbs turning into blades of water she sent at the monster. That may not have done the damage she was hoping for but it did help in throwing it off course and making large indents in its side. Whenever the thing ran at her, she rolled to the side, she felt the heat of its metal 'skin' practically burn the skin making her flinch. Merri could feel the strength slowly draining from her and she was starting to get sleepy as the moments passed by. With all th packing she did yesterday, the drive here and the total of three hours sleep, the redhead was feeling exhausted but kept on fighting th bull if only to give Percy a chance to defeat the one on his tail. At one moment, Merri was half a second too slow to jump out of the bull's way and resorted t making a shield f hardened water in front of her to cushion the impact with the monster.

The force of the hit sent a strong vibration through her bones. Merri flew through the air, slamming her back into a tree. before she had the chance to fully regain her senses, the bull changed direction and headed straight for the disoriented girl. She tried to judge the distance between herself and the bull which proved to be difficult since she could see three of them. At, seemingly, the last minute, she managed to roll out of its way. The thing rammed itself into the tree, which groaned loudly before falling over from the force of the impact.

Merri was still dizzy and seeing double but she could discern bot Annabeth and Percy yelling at someone named 'Tyson'through the sound of something hitting metal. In the meantime, Clarisse managed to get to Merri's side and impale one of the bulls through its hind leg with a spear. With her vision slowly returning to normal, she could see that this wasn't the bull that almost ran her over; this one had a hug gash in its side and half of its snout was cut off. She had no doubt that this was the bull Percy was fighting; they must've swapped places while she was disoriented. The bull was trying to run in circles, moving slowly like a deranged version of a merry-go-round animal.

Clarisse pulled off her helmet and marched passed Merri, who was sitting on the ground ad holding a large ball of ice to her head, and towards Percy, Annabeth and a tall, brown-haired boy wearing the same tie-dyed t-shirt Percy had. Parts of Clarisse's brown hair were smoldering but the girl seemingly ignored it and started yelling at Percy. "You-ruin-everything! I had it under control."

Annabeth grumbled, "Good to see you too, Clarisse."

"Don't ever, EVER try saving me again!" Clarisse screamed. Merri simply flopped on her back, still holding the ice ball closely tote bump that was starting to form on the back of her head. For the love of her,she couldn't figure out why it was always her head that got hurt while she fought a monster. The Fury when she was seven-she got a concussion. The Manticore when she was twelve- concussion. Te Hellhound when she was fourteen- concussion. The Hydra last year- concussion. And she was pretty sure she had one now. This would be the fifth time she got a concussion in her life. She was surprised there was never any lasting brain damage or she'd most likely be eating on a straw by now. Must be a half-blood thing.

"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed, "you've got wounded campers."

That seemed to sober her up and her expression morphed from livid to concerned. Say what you will about Clarisse, but she cared about her soldiers.

Jokingly, Merri rose her free arm into the air and waved it. "Wounded camper, right here." Both Percy and Clarisse approached her with worried faces, inspecting the lying redhead.

Clrisse was the first to speak to her. "You okay, Dundee?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I think i may have another concussion but other than that I'm just peachy. I'll just have this knucklehead bring me bucket of water and I'll be as good as new," Merri pointed at her brother before looking back at Clarisse. "You, however, have others to take care of so scram before I stop seeing double and make you."

Clarisse snorted at her before turning to Percy. "I'll be back," she growled at the boy and proceeded to march off to asses the damage the two rampant bulls did to her soldiers.

"See you later, Terminator,"Merri yelled after her and chuckled when she heard her yell back something that sounded suspiciously like "Screw you!" in ancient Greek.

From her position on the floor, Merri saw Annabeth and the tall unknown boy near them. Percy turned around and looked at the boy.

"You didn't die," he said.

The boy looked down as if embarrassed. "I m sorry. Came to help. Disobeyed you."

"My fault," Annabeth interjected. "I had n choice. I had to let Tyson cross the boundary line to save you. Otherwise, you would've died." Her words sparked something in Merri's mind but only turned into a headache wen she tried to think about it. Percy must've noticed the same thing she did.

"Let him cross the boundary line? But-," he stammered. "Merri, what's she talking about?"

Merri closed her eyes and grumbled, "Cant't think. Head hurts." Percy sighed at her.

"Percy," Annabeth spoke, "have you ever looked at Tyson closely? I mean... in the face. Ignore the Mist, and really look at him."

Th mention of the Mist had Merri opening her eyes and looking the boy,identified as 'Tyson', right in the eyes. Being a descendant of three Olympian gods made it easier for her to see through the Mist than it would be for some other half-bloods. She gave Tyson a good look. He was about two meters tall, broad shouldered, with a mop of messy brown hair which hung sightly in his face. When she looked at his face, however, she was astound to find that the boy only had one eye. The said eye was placed in the middle of his forehead, had thick lashes and was calf-brown in color. There were also big tears trickling down his cheeks on either side.

The boy was a Cyclops.

"Is it just me," Merri blurted, "or is he a-?"

"Cyclops," Annabeth finished.

"Oh, so I didn't hit my head as hard as I thought," the Australian mused. Percy was still too stunned by what he saw to say a word.

"He's still just a baby, by the looks of him," Annabeth explained. "Probably why he couldn't get past the boundary lines as easily as the bull. Tyson's one of the homeless orphans."

That's when Percy's brain finally rebooted and his mouth became functional again. "One of the what?"

"They're in almost all the big cities," Annabeth continued distastefully. "They're... mistakes, Percy. Children of nature spirits and gods... Well, one god in particular, usually... and they don't always come out right. They get tossed aside. They grow up wild on the streets. I don't know how this one found you, but he obviously likes you. We should take him to Chiron, let him decide what to do."

"I sure hope you're planning on doing that _after_ you've taken me to our cabin and sprinkled me with water like a damn daisy!" Merri quipped from the ground. "I mean, I'm still hurt here, and gross, and tired, and want to take a shower, and dizzy, and seeing double- no, scratch that, _triple_ \- and am sure that both Percy and Tyson would like to get some rest and have some time to process this whole thing, which leaves me with one small question: Who's gonna carry me back to cabin three?!" She scanned the stunned trio and spoke to Tyson. "Tyson, would you be sweet and help me up? Percy's got a banged up leg which I'm not sure is stale enough to hold both of us, and I don't like Chase enough to ask for her help- no offense, Chase."

Annabeth shrugged. "None taken. You're not my favorite person either."

"Glad that we're on the same page here. So, Tyson?" The Cyclops shyly nodded before bending down and slowly pulling the redhead up to lean on him for support. "Thank you very much," she said patting one of his shoulders.

"Okay," Percy said, "but what about the fire? How did Tyson not get burned when the bull shot it at him?"

"He's a Cyclops," Merri said. "They work the forges of the gods. They have to be immune to fire given that getting burned is an occupational hazard."

Annabeth nodded, "That's what I was trying to tell you earlier."

Clarisse came back over,wiping soot off her forehead. "Jackson, we need to carry the wounded back to the Big House, your sister included, and let Tantalus know what's happened."

"Tantalus?" Merri and Percy asked at the same time. "If that's a joke, Terminator, it's not funny," Merri said with a grave look.

"He's the activities director," Clarisse responded.

" _Chiron_ is the activities director," Percy insisted. "And where's Argus? He's head of security. He should be here."

"I _did_ find it a bit strange that I've seen neither of the two when I arrived earlier," Merri confirmed.

Carisse made a sour face. "Argus got fired. You three have been gone too long. Things are changing."

"What about Chiron? He's trained kids to fight monsters for over three millennium. He can't simply be gone! What happened?"

"That happened," Clarisse snapped and pointed to Thalia's tree.

The story behind the tree's importance is one well known among all campers. Roughly six years ago, Grover led Annabeth, Luke and Thalia to Camp Half-Blood with an army of monsters on their tail. When they were cornered atop Half-Blood Hill, Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, made her last stand to give her friends time to get to safety. In the battle, she was mortally wounded and, as she lay dying, her father, Zeus, took pity on her and turned her into a pine tree. Her spirit reinforced the magic borders around the camp, protecting it from all monsters. Ever since, the pine had been there, strong and healthy.

But now... Now, its needles were dry and yellow, and a pile of dead ones littered the base of the tree's trunk. In its center, three feet from the ground, was a bullet-hole-sized puncture mark, oozing green sap.

That explained why the borders were suddenly failing. Thalia's tree was dying.

It had been poisoned.


	3. Gamma

**AN: So, here's the third chapter for this story. It's about 1k words longer than the previous one, you're welcome. This is also the last chapter I will be publishing before my college year starts (it starts on the 1st) so the updates WILL take even longer from now on and will be very chaotic or even shorter.**

 **Please leave a review with your comment down below and favorite/follow. The more people I hear from, the more I feel inclined to write. Also, please check out the poll I have on my profile.**

 **Hope you all like this chapter.**

 **angel 3**

* * *

Following being nearly dragged to the Apollo cabin medics and doused with a bucket of water, Merri took a moment to really look around the camp as she followed Annabeth, Percy and Tyson to the Big House. She really felt blind now. It astounded her how she had not noticed the change in the air or seen armed nymphs. The forest itself was sickly looking, for Pete's sake!

Campers and satyrs were running all around, stockpiling weapons and organizing patrols. In the expanse of one year, the camp turned from a safe and reasonably happy place for half-bloods to something akin to a military school.

Apparently, none of that bothered the young Cyclops as Tyson was fascinated with everything he saw and frequently asked Percy what everything was, to what the teen patiently answered. "Whatsthat!" Tyson asked, looking at the cabins.

"Those are cabins for the campers," Percy told him. "If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin - the brown one over there - until you're determined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group."

Tyson looked at him in awe. "You... have a cabin?"

"Number three," Percy pointed at the low sea stone building.

"You live with friends in the cabin?"

"Well, it's just me and Merri-"

"It's 'Merri and I', Perce," Merri was quick to correct to what Percy shot her with an annoyed look. "What?! It's subconscious! I can't help it to correct people when I hear something like that." Percy and Annabeth rolled their eyes at the older girl while Tyson chuckled next to her.

When the quartet got to the Big House, they found Chiron in is apartment, listening to 1960s music, that seemed like something Merri's grandpa enjoyed, while packing his saddlebags up. Merri had no trouble voicing her opinion of the centaur's taste in music as often as possible.

The moment Tyson saw him, however, he froze and cried: "Pony!" with a look so priceless, Merri internally berated herself for not having a camera on hand. She made an internal note to always carry one with her from this day onwards.

"You planning on going away, Chiron?" she asked while looking over a random Sinatra record.

The moment Merri ended her sentence, Annabeth ran up to the centaur and hugged him around the waist. "What's going on, Chiron? You're not really... leaving, are you?" The shakiness in the girl's voice was not surprising as she thought of Chiron as her second father.

Chiron gently ruffled Annabeth's blonde hair and smiled at the four teens. "Hello, child. Merriall, always a pleasure to see you. And Percy, my goodness. You've grown over the year."

"Clarisse said you were...," Percy started "That you were, um..."

"Fired." Chiron finished for him. "Ah, well, someone had to take the blame. Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he'd created from his daughter's spirit, poisoned! Mr. D had to punish somebody."

"Besides himself, you mean," Percy growled.

Merri rubbed her chin in thought while leaning on a table. "What I don't understand is why _you_ of all people. You'd be the _last_ person to try and do something like this."

"Nevertheless," Chiron sighed, "some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Merri practically jumped away from the table. "Still?! Really?! Well, aren't they just a bunch of hypocrites."

Chiron said nothing, simply stuffed a Latin-English dictionary in a bag with Frank Sinatra playing in the background. Tyson was still staring at the centaur in amazement, whimpering like he wanted to pat the immortal creature's flank but was too frightened to approach him. "Pony?"

Chiron sniffed. "My dear young Cyclops! I am a centaur."

"Chiron", Merri started. "What exactly happened to the tree?"

He shook his head sadly. "The poison used appears to be from the Underworld. Some type of venom even I have never seen. It must have come from a monster quite deep in the pits of Tartarus."

"Then we know who's responsible!" Percy exclaimed. "Kro-"

"Do not invoke the titan lord's name, Percy. Especially not here, not now."

"But last summer he tried to cause a civil war in Olympus! This has to be his idea. He'd get Luke to do it, that- "He cut himself off after his eyes caught Merri's.

Last summer, during their fight for Zeus' Master Bolt, Luke uncovered to Percy that he was actually working for Kronos, the king of titans.

For those not familiar with the myth, Kronos is the father of most of the twelve Olympian gods them being: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. Due to a prophecy of one of his children dethroning him, Kronos swallowed them all upon birth. When Zeus, the youngest, was born, his mother, Rhea, gave Kronos a stone in place of the baby god while she sent her son to be raised in the mortal world. In short, when Zeus was all grown up, he gave his father a potion which forced the titan to throw all his children up. Since they are immortal, instead of being digested in is stomach, they grew and matured. Finally free, Zeus and his siblings waged war on the titans and came out victorious. Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, took Kronos' scythe, chopped him into tiny pieces and locked him up in a sarcophagus, which they threw into the deepest depths of Tartarus. But, since he's immortal, he is still alive, in eternal pain, and plotting on returning and exacting his revenge on Olympus. He may not be able to do anything on his own, but he is still good at twisting the minds of others to do his bidding.

Anyhow, back to the present.

"Perhaps," Chiron said. "But I fear I am being held responsible because I did not prevent it and I cannot cure it. The tree has only a few weeks of life left unless…"

"Unless what?" Annabeth asked. Merri, too, looked intrigued.

"No," Chiron said, shaking his head. "A foolish thought. The whole valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying. Only one source would be strong enough to reverse the poison, and it was lost centuries ago."

It was as if something suddenly clicked inside Merri's head and she threw a wide-eyed look at Chiron, her green eyes looking almost blue and swirling with recognition. "Quod ais te putare dicere? ( _Are you saying what I think you're saying?_ )" she asked in fluent Latin. When Chiron nodded somberly, she continued to mutter to herself, still speaking in Latin and drawing weird looks from Percy and Annabeth, seeing as the two had quite the trouble with understanding the older girl even though they knew quite a bit Latin. Merri was recollecting the story to herself in an attempt to find any clue she could about the object they needed.

In the meantime, Chiron had finished packing and turned to Percy. "Percy, you must promise me that you will not act rashly. I told your mother I did not want you to come here at all this summer. It's much too dangerous. But now that you are here, stay here. Train hard. Learn to fight. But do not leave."

"Why?! I want to do something! I don't see you babying Merri so much and she's barely a year older than me! No, I can't just let the borders fall. The whole camp will be-"

"Overrun by monsters," Chiron calmly finished for him. "Yes, I fear so. But you must not let yourself be baited into hasty action! This could be a trap of the titan lord. Remember last summer. You almost lost your life."

"And why aren't you telling any of this to Merri? She's still my sister." The girl in question was still pacing on the side, muttering to herself, unknowingly switching from Latin, to English, to Greek, to French, but a part of her attention was focused solely on the other occupants of the room.

Chiron sighed. "Merriall has been a camper here longer than anyone, including Annabeth. She has more experience in dealing with monsters as well as a better grasp on her abilities. She is, also, not as impulsive as you and can be trusted not to do anything rash." Finishing his explanation, Chiron turned to Anabeth, who was trying hard not to burst into tears. "You stay with Percy, child. Keep him safe." With a glance to Merri, he whispered and them continued in his normal tone: "Keep them both safe. Remember the prophecy."

"I-I will."

"Um…" Percy said. "Would this be the super-dangerous prophecy that has me in it, but the gods have forbidden you to tell me about?"

Nobody answered.

"Right. Just checking."

"Chiron..." Annabeth said. "You told me the gods made you immortal only so long as you were needed to train heroes. If they dismiss you from camp-"

"Swear you will do your best to keep those two from danger," he insisted. "Swear upon the River Styx."

"I-I swear it upon the River Styx," Annabeth said.

Thunder rumbled outside. 'I don't think she knows what she just got herself into,' Merri thought with a small sigh.

"Very well," Chiron said. He seemed to relax just a little bit. "Perhaps my name will be cleared and I shall return. Until then, I go to visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. It's possible they know of some cure for the poisoned tree that I have forgotten. In any event, I will stay in exile until this matter is resolved... one way or another."

As Annabeth tried to choke down a sob, Chiron awkwardly patted her shoulder. "There, now, child. I must entrust your safety to Mr. D and the new activities director. We must hope... well, perhaps they won't destroy the camp quite as quickly as I fear."

"If only we were so lucky, Chiron," Merri quipped.

"Who is this Tantalus guy, anyway?" Percy demanded. "Where does he get off taking your job?"

The sound of a conch horn blowing across the valley seemed to startle the younger campers, while Merri simply threw a quick glance over her shoulder, in the directing the sound had come from. They hadn't realized how late it had gotten. It was time for the campers to assemble for dinner.

"Go," Chiron urged them. "You will meet him at the pavilion. I will contact your mother, Percy, and let her know you're safe and with Merriall. No doubt she'll be worried by now. Just remember my warning! You and your sister are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten about either of you two!"

With that, he clopped out of his apartment and down the hall, Tyson calling after hi, "Pony! Don't go!"

"Well, that wasn't ominous at all," Merri remarked sarcastically while rubbing Tyson's back as he was bawling his eye out almost as bad as Annabeth. The blonde's reaction was completely understandable; she'd just lost her father figure and they were practically at war with one of the biggest enemies their ancestors had ever faced. Percy approached her and tried to tell Annabeth that it would all be okay, but the look in his eyes said that he didn't completely believe it himself.

ΩΩΩ

The sun was setting behind the dinning pavilion as the campers were leaving their cabins. After promising to talk to Percy later, Annabeth went off to join her sibling from the Athena cabin – a dozen or so boys and girls with blond hair and gray eye like her. Annabeth wasn't the oldest but she'd been at camp more summers than anyone, excluding Merri who had been there a year or two more.

Next came Clarisse, leading the Ares cabin. Her arm was in a sling and there was a nasty gash on her face, but otherwise her encounter with the bronze bulls seemed not to have fazed her at all. Someone had taped a piece of paper to her back that said, _You moo, girl!_ But no one in her cabin was bothering to inform her of this.

After them came the Hephaestus cabin – Merri's grandfather's half-siblings – six of them led by Charles Beckendorf, a big African American guy with hand the size of catchers' mitts and a hard and squinty-looking face from working in the forge all day. He was a nice enough guy once you've made the effort of getting to know him – like many had learned was the case with Merri as well – and most just called him by his last name. There was a rumor that he could make anything as long as you gave him metal to work with. It didn't matter if it was a sharp sword, a robot warrior or a bloody singing birdbath for your grandmother's garden. Whatever you wanted, he could make. Or so the rumor stated.

Slowly, the other cabins filed in: Demeter, Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus. Naiads came up from the cane lake. Dryads melted out of the trees. From the meadow came a dozen satyrs, but Merri took notice of Grover's absence.

While they worked all kinds of odd jobs for Mr. D, at the camp, the satyrs' most important work was in the real world. They were seekers, going undercover into schools all over the world, looking for potential half-bloods and escorting them back to camp. It was how most of the campers, including Percy, came to know of their godly heritage. Merri, on the other hand, was flown to the US with her grandmother after a Fury had attacked Merri and rendered her grandfather paralyzed from the waist down. Fearing for their granddaughter's safety, the Rafters took a seven-year-old Merri to Long Island and to the camp, where they too had once trained, and entrusted her into Chiron's care. Merri had been coming here, every summer ever since. Her clay bead necklace, which she was rarely seen wearing, had more beads than any other, including Annabeth's.

After the satyrs filed in, the Hermes cabin brought up the rear. They were the biggest cabin, taking in both Hermes' claimed children and all other newcomers until they are claimed. Last summer, they had been led by Luke, who'd fought on top of Half-Blood Hill with Annabeth and Thalia, and who'd been the first person to befriend Merri. Up until last year, Merri had been a member of the Hermes cabin until she was claimed by Poseidon, following her and Percy's return from New York and the return of Zeus' Bolt.

Now, the Hermes cabin was led by Travis and Connor Stoll. They weren't twins, but they looked so much alike it didn't matter. Both were tall and skinny, with mops of brown hair hanging in their eyes. They wore those atrocious orange _Camp Half-Blood_ T-shirts and had those elfish features all Hermes' kids seemed to possess: upturned eyebrows, sarcastic smiles and a gleam in their eyes whenever they looked at someone – like they were about to drop a firecracker down your shirt.

The moment all the campers had filed in, Percy and Merri led Tyson into the middle of the pavilion. Conversation faltered. Heads turned. Someone from the Apollo table murmured, "Who invited _that_?"

Merri immediately shot an icy glare at the person. "I heard that, kid!" she said pointedly.

From the head table a familiar voice drawled, "Well, well, if it isn't Peter Johnson. My millennium is complete."

"Percy Jackson… sir," the boy in question grit through his teeth from Merri's side.

Mr. D sipped his Diet Coke. "Yes. Well, as you young people say these days: Whatever." Behind him, a nervous-looking satyr was peeling the skins off grapes and handing them to Mr. D one at a time.

Mr. D's real name is Dionysus; the god of wine and insanity. Zeus appointed him director of Camp Half-Blood to dry out for a century – a punishment for chasing a wood nymph Zeus had had his eye on. Yeesh!

Next to him, where Chiron usually sat - or stood, depending on which form he was in at the moment- was a horribly thin, pale man in a threadbare orange prisoner's jumpsuit with a number over the pocket that read 0001. He had blue shadows under his eyes, dirty fingernails, and badly cut gray hair (weed whacker style). This could only be Tantalus.

"These two," Mr. D told him, pointing at the green-eyed siblings, "you need to watch over. Poseidon's children, you know."

"Ah! The girl and the dark-haired boy." The tone he'd used made it clear that they had already discussed Merri and Percy over in great detail.

"I am Tantalus," he introduced himself with a cold smile. "On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Perseus Jackson and Merriall Rafter, I do expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble."

"Who? Trouble? Us?" Merri said overdramatically, sarcasm practically pouring from every word. "Never! Why, my brother and I are just a pair of little angels!" She even threw in an innocent bat of her eyelashes and a puppy-eye-look.

Mr. D snapped his fingers and a copy of the New York Post appeared on the table. There was Percy's yearbook picture on the front page. The headline took a bit concentration to make out but the gist of it was: _Seventeen-Year-Old Lunatic Torches Gymnasium._ Merri gave her half-brother a look that screamed ' _Seriously?!_ '

"Yes, trouble," Tantalus said with satisfaction. "You caused plenty of it last summer, I understand."

A satyr inched forward nervously and set a plate of barbecue in front of Tantalus. The new activities director licked his lips. He looked at his empty goblet and said, "Root beer. Barq's special stock. 1967."

Remembering who Tantalus was, Merri crossed her arms with a smirk. "Well, this is gonna be interesting," she quietly muttered. Percy must've heard her as he gave her a confused look. She merely gestured for him to watch Tantalus.

The glass filled itself with foamy soda. Tantalus stretched out his hand hesitantly, as if he were afraid the goblet was hot.

"Go on, then, old fellow," Mr. D said, a strange sparkle in his eyes. "Perhaps now it will work."

Tantalus grabbed for the glass, but it scooted away before he could touch it. A few drops of root beer spilled, and Tantalus tried to dab them up with his fingers, but the drops rolled away like quicksilver before he could touch them. He growled and turned toward the plate of barbecue- he picked up a fork and tried to stab a piece of brisket, but the plate skittered down the table and flew off the end, straight into the coals of the brazier. Meat committing suicide. There's a first time for everything.

"Blast!" Tantalus muttered.

"Ah, well," Mr. D said, his voice dripping with false sympathy. "Perhaps a few more days. Believe me, old chap, working at this camp will be torture enough. I'm sure your old curse will fade eventually."

"Eventually," muttered Tantalus, staring at Dionysus' Diet Coke. "Do you have any idea how dry one's throat gets after three thousand years?"

"A just punishment, if you ask me," Merri said with a serious face.

Tantalus threw a venomous look at the auburn-haired girl. "Well, no one asked you, now did they?"

"You're that spirit from the Fields of Punishment," Percy exclaimed. "The one who stands in the lake with the fruit tree hanging over you, but you can't eat or drink."

Tantalus sneered at him. "A real scholar, aren't you, boy?"

"You forgot about the huge boulder hanging over," Merri added. "The one that's about to fall and crush him any second."

"I didn't see any boulder there."

"Oh, trust you me, it's there."

"You must've done something really horrible when you were alive," Percy turned back to Tantalus, mildly impressed. "What was it?"

Tantalus' eyes narrowed. Behind him, the satyrs were shaking their heads, trying to warn Percy.

"I'll be watching you, Percy Jackson," Tantalus said. "I don't want any problems at my camp."

"Your camp already has problems… sir."

"Oh, go sit down, Johnson," Mr. D sighed. "I believe that table over there is yours. Take your harpy of a sister with you, please."

Percy was seething as he turned to their table, while Merri was muttering an extremely long string of what seemed to be curses in French. He motioned for Tyson to follow them.

"Oh, no," Tantalus said. "The monster stays here. We must decide what to do with it."

"Him," Percy snapped. "His name is Tyson."

Tantalus raised an eyebrow.

"Tyson saved the camp, today," Merri said. "He pounded those bulls. Had he not, they would've burned this whole place to the ground."

"Yes," Tantalus sighed. "and what a pity that would've been."

Dionysus snickered.

"Leave us," Tantalus ordered, "while we decide this creature's fate."

Tyson looked at Percy in fear.

"I'll be right over here, big guy," Percy promised. "Don't worry. We'll find you a god place to sleep tonight."

Tyson nodded. "I believe you. You are my friend."

Percy trudged over to the Poseidon table with a guilty look and slumped onto the bench. Merri plopped herself across from him. A wood nymph brought a plate of Olympian olive-and-pepperoni pizza for Percy and a bacon-cheeseburger nearly the size of a handball with a large side of curly chilly-fries for Merri. The girl was practically drooling at the sight of her dinner. As was customary, she got up with her plate and scraped off most of her fries into the flames of the bronze brazier. Next to her, Percy mimicked her actions.

"Poseidon," they said, "accept my offering."

'And, please, send some help as well. I fear we may be a bit in over our heads with this,' Merri prayed silently.

The smoke from the burning pizza and fries changed into the smell of clean sea breeze with wild flowers mixed in. Still, neither half-blood knew if their father was really listening.

The two went back to their seats. Merri was just about to take a bite out of her food, when Tantalus had one of the satyrs blow the conch horn to get the campers' attention for announcements. She reluctantly put her burger back on her plate and turned to Tantalus but still throwing looks of yearning to her food. She silently swore revenge on the new activities director if her food went cold during his announcement.

"Yes, well," Tantalus said, once the talking had died down. "Another fine meal! Or so I am told." As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his refilled dinner plate, as if maybe the food wouldn't notice what he was doing, but it did! It shot away down the table as soon as he got within six inches.

"And here on my first day of authority," he continued, "I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture, er, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat."

Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some halfhearted applause from the satyrs. Tyson was still standing at the head table, looking uncomfortable, but every time he tried to scoot out of the limelight, Tantalus pulled him back.

"And now some changes!" Tantalus gave the campers a crooked smile. "We are reinstituting the chariot races!"

Murmuring broke out at all the tables – excitement, fear, disbelief.

"Now I know," Tantalus continued, raising his voice," that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."

"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations," someone at Apollo table called.

"Yes, yes!" Tantalus said. "But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"

An explosion of excited conversation – no KP for a whole month? No stable cleaning? Was he serious? Merri scoffed and turned back to chomping up her burger. "Count me out, I'm not suicidal," she told Percy when he gave her an excited look. "I'm surrounded by idiots," she muttered to herself.

"But, sir!" Clarisse said. She appeared to be nervous, but stood up to speak from the Ares table, regardless. Some campers snickered when they saw the paper still stuck to her back. "What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots-"

"Ah, the hero of the day," Tantalus exclaimed. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!"

Clarisse blinked, then blushed. "Um, I didn't-"

"And modest, too," Tantalus grinned. "Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"

"But the tree-"

"And now," Tantalus said, as several of Clarisse's cabin mates pulled her back into her seat. "before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson, Merriall Rafter and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here." Tantalus waved a hand toward Tyson.

Uneasy murmuring spread among campers. A lot of sideways were directed at the siblings. Percy looked like her wanted to kill Tantalus. Merri was still busy devouring her burger, but made time to send a challenging and murderous look at everyone; an especially cold one was reserved for Tantalus.

"Now, of course," he said, "Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes' cabin, possibly?"

Silence at the Hermes table. Travis ad Connor Stoll developed a sudden interest in the tablecloth. They couldn't be blamed, though. The Hermes cabin was always full to bursting. There was no way they could take in a six-foot-three Cyclops.

"Come now," Tantalus chided. "The monster may be able to do some menial chores. Any suggestion as to where such a beast should be kenneled?"

Suddenly everybody gasped. Merri rose hear head at the sound, her hands relaxing – during Tantalus' speech, she was clenching them so hard, her nails broke skin and, now her palms were streaked with blood from the cuts.

Tantalus scooted away from Tyson in surprise. There was a glowing green holographic image floating above Tyson's head, one Merri was very familiar with. 'So I was right,' Merri thought to herself. A quick glance to Percy showed him to be completely shocked.

Swirling above Tyson was a green trident – the same symbol that had appeared above both Percy and Merri on the days Poseidon had claimed them as his children.

There was a moment of awed silence.

Being claimed was a rare event. Some campers waited in vain for it their whole lives. It had taken eleven years since she had first come to the camp, for Poseidon to claim Merri. And, even then, he did it only _after_ she took part in the quest to return Zeus' Bolt. When she was claimed, everyone stood with shocked expressions. When Percy was claimed, a week-or-so before Merri, everyone had kneeled reverently. But now, they followed Tantalus' lead, and he roared with laughter. "Well! I think we know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!"

Everybody was laughing except Annabeth and a few of Percy's other friends.

Tyson didn't seem to notice. He was too mystified, trying to swat the glowing trident that was now fading over his head. He was too innocent to understand how much they were making fun of him, how cruel people were. He may, technically, be a monster but, in reality, humans can be the worst monsters ever.

With a frustrated sigh, Merri rose from her seat, leaving her half-eaten burger, and went to Tyson's side. She placed a warm smile on her face, gently putting her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Sweetie, why don't you go sit with Percy over there?" she said when he took his eye off the trident and looked at her. "I'll get you something to eat and, then, Percy and I will show you where you're going to be sleeping from now on. That sound okay with you?" Tyson nodded and went to sit next to Percy with a large smile on his face. The moment he was out of earshot, Merri turned to Tantalus with a dark look.

"Pull something like that again and you'll wish you'd stayed in the Underworld, is that clear?"

"Are you trying to defend a monster, little girl?" Tantalus asked, condescendingly. Merri gave him a look of repulsion.

"The only monster I see here, is _you._ "

Merri turned back to her table, shooting glares at everyone who had laughed at Tyson on her way. One by one, all lost their smiles and quietly returned to their food with looks of guilt or heavy discomfort.

Sitting down in front of her burger, she turned to Tyson. "From now on, you sleep in our cabin."


	4. Delta

**AN: Hello my lovelies! I'm back for another update before going back to another long hiatus. I've just started my second semester of college so I decided to award you all with a new chapter. I'm really happy to see the number or readers on this story as well as the previous one. You guys are the best! Still, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave reviews on both stories since I like to know your opinions on my work. It helps me grow as a writer and bring you a more entertaining story and characters.**

 **Regardless, this will most probably be the last update I make before the beginning of July. Any earlier ones are more like a gift from heaven than me starting to be regular with writing, but still.**

 **Also, I would highly appreciate it if you'd vote on the poll I have set up on my profile as it very well might have an impact on Merri's fate.**

 **And just because I'm an Otaku and have been rolling down memory lane, I'd like it if you guys would check out this link. These songs were just a HUGE part of my childhood and I wanna share them with you guys since they were what got me through writing this chapter. :)**

 **watch?v=vZ8UMq_hI28**

 **Well, that's all from me for now. I hope you'll like this chapter. And remember:**

 **Read, Fav/Follow and Review!**

 **Love, angel**

* * *

The following few days, while torture for Percy, proved to be more or less fun for Merri. She'd told Percy that he shouldn't let their situation get to him or he'd be playing into Tantalus' hands, but he'd always wave her off like she had no idea what she was talking about. That grated on her nerves but she let him sulk – after all, it's not like she went through a nearly exact same situation last summer and was going through one now as well.

Screw it. At least Tyson was having fun with the situation. The young Cyclops seemed blissfully unaware of Percy's feelings about his origin – and everyone else's for that matter – and Merri was happy with that. While huge in size and strength, Tyson proved to be a gentle soul underneath the monstrous exterior and, in some cases, acted more like a small child than the teen he appeared to be, making it easier for Merri to deal with him and to protect him from the teasing of other campers.

Percy, on the other hand, obviously felt ashamed of having Tyson as his sibling – even by half. It mostly had to do with the act that he was no longer the big hero in the eyes of others, but the poor schmuck with a monster for a brother. Peer pressure at its best, it seemed. And while he sulked, and protested to the others, and yelled that Tyson wasn't really his brother, and Annabeth tried to cheer him up by suggesting that they form a team for the chariot race, Merri took to spending more and more of her time with Tyson than with Percy. It was probably a subconscious attempt at conveying that if he thought Tyson wasn't his real brother, neither was she his sister. Thus, she took Tyson on small tours of the camp grounds and swimming in the bay. She even let him play around with Lucy when it turned out that the crazy blonde feline had actually managed to stow away in the redhead's luggage somehow. That was one conversation with her landlady she was _not_ looking forward to repeating in any due time.

Surprisingly, for a cat with the hate for the entire male gender, Lucy was okay with playing around with Tyson. The young Cyclops didn't seem to scare the fluffy animal one bit, so Merri was glad he had something to pass the time with other than doing nothing productive with her.

When she was approached by Percy and Annabeth about joining their chariot team, she was quick to refuse. Her reason?

"You've already got one horse whisperer, what the hell do you need two for?"

Also not to mention the fact that their question interrupted her while she was tuning her guitar didn't bring them in any brownie points either. Over the years, Merri had told Annabeth countless times never to disturb her while she's playing around with her guitar on the cabin's roof – something the blonde obviously decided to overlook in order to harass the older girl into helping her. Not happening.

The duo then left in a seemingly random direction which would lead them to pass by the Aphrodite cabin and Merri continued on with her guitar, occasionally stooping to hum to herself and write word or notes down in a leather bound notebook next to her. These days, she was practically brimming with inspiration.

* * *

Over the course of the next couple of days, Percy started spending more time with Tyson – Merri was sure it had absolutely _nothing_ to do with his fight with Annabeth. What the two lovebirds were fighting about _now_ was completely irrelevant to the redheaded Australian. –for which Merri was grateful. As good as she can be with kids, Tyson was just too full of energy for her to handle, so she was more than happy o let the Cyclops hang out with his favorite person in the world. It also helped that Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin had no problem hanging out with Tyson whenever Merri and Percy were either too busy or too exhausted to do so themselves. He'd taken to showing Tyson the ropes of metalworking, claiming the Cyclops would be masterfully crafting magic items before they knew it.

Merri saw very little of Percy these days as well. The boy was constantly off doing something, as if he were trying vehemently to keep his mind occupied. He took pegasi riding lessons with Silena Beauregard – the only person in the Aphrodite cabin who didn't seem to hate Merri – which he took to unsurprisingly well when taken into consideration that, technically, the ancestor of all the pegasi at camp was Merri and Percy's half-brother, but that's a story for another time. Regardless, whether or not Percy was aware of this fact, he seemed to genuinely enjoy spending his time on horseback.

The boy also spent his time on swordplay, archery – where he turned out to still be a hazard to everything but his intended target -, climbing the wall, arts and crafts – he later admitted to making Poseidon look suspiciously like Sly Stallone – and border patrol. And, while he was off doing everything available, Merri made it her mission not to take part in anything remotely productive.

Her days were spent disappearing right after breakfast, only reappearing for lunch and then dinner. She was still on her usual workout routine of running, swimming, wall-climbing etc. She also started meditating – she was occasionally seen doing soon Cabin 3's roof with Lucy curled up in her lap or pawing at her hair. She wrote three new songs, sending them over to her band mates and even snuck into the Big House to play the piano in there. How she wasn't seen by Mr. D or Tantalus was a feat in itself. In the evenings, while Percy was on patrol and the rest of the campers were participating in the traditional sing-along's in the amphitheater, Merri would curl up on her bed with Lucy and watch one of the many movies she had on her laptop.

Watching "The Princess Bride" while gorging oneself on chocolate, popcorn and cheese-dip nachos beat looking at Tantalus' ugly mug any day.

* * *

Percy was still having nightmares if his constant mumblings, thrashings and spinning on the bed was any indication. Ever since they'd gotten back to Camp, he's been having weird dreams he later refused to talk about with Merri. On more than one occasion, he got so annoying that Merri opted for sleeping on the cabin's roof. Luckily for her, it never rained on those nights.

He and Tyson finished working on their chariot the night before the race. According to the boys, the thing was 'wicked cool'. From what Merri'd seen, all she could tell you about the thing was that it was blue and white with a trident painted on the front. In her opinion, it was nowhere nearly as cool as her car, but she might be biased on that one.

As the three children of Poseidon were turning in that night, Tyson started a conversation with Percy – one Merri heard nearly no part of due to the blaring music in her ears, courtesy of her iPod. And she was too busy humming the songs under her breath and trying to get Lucy off her pillow, so that might have had some impact on that as well.

"… I will be a good monster. Then you will not have to be mad," she heard Tyson say in between songs, so she inconspicuously paused her playlist to listen to her brothers.

Percy seemed speechless at Tyson's comment. Merri wasn't sure what they were talking about before this, but it clearly drove a proverbial nail through her younger brother's heart. It took the younger boy a few minutes to start speaking again and, when he did, it was obvious he was putting a lot of effort into not letting his voice crack.

"It's just…" he started, "I never had a half-sibling before. It's really different for me. And I'm worried about the camp. And another friend of mine, Grover… he might be in trouble. I keep feeling like I should be doing something to help, but I don't know what." Silence met Percy's words. From the corner of her eye, Merri could see that Tyson was already fast asleep and she was still pretending to be listening to music and scribbling into her lyrics notebook.

"I'm sorry," Percy sighed. "It's not your fault. I'm mad at Poseidon. I feel like he's trying to embarrass me, like he's trying to compare us or something, and I don't understand why."

Right after a deep rumbling snore escaped Tyson, Merri tore her headphones from her ears and pinned her brother with an impassive look. "Don't you think I've ever felt like that when you entered the picture?" she asked him putting her things away under her bed and tuning to face him properly.

A look of confusion was plastered all over Percy's face. "What're you talking about?"

"Think Percy," she pressed. "Up until last summer, I wasn't aware of your existence as well. I spent _twelve years_ in this camp, hoping that one day I'd be worthy enough for Poseidon to claim me as his child. Then, one day, you show up and within two days of being here you're claimed by our father while it took me helping you go to the Underworld _and_ fighting my _only_ friend at camp – a fight that nearly killed me when I was struck by lightning -, nearly bleeding out to death for him to even notice me being in the same room as you on Olympus, to claim me when we got back to camp. And I forgave him for that because I know that gods are fickle beings and their attention spans for humans are particularly short," Merri rambled and while speaking, not once did her voice waver from its monotone which, in one hand, was even worse than if she were yelling.

"I also found out on that night, that you were the reason why he left my mother and me. And now you're all conflicted about finding out that your brother is classified as a monster by most people just because he's got one eye!"Merri glared at Percy. "I don't know how much you know about Poseidon's escapades, but, technically speaking, the Pegasus is also our half-brother. If you don't believe me, feel free to read up on the myth of Perseus. That should clear some things up." Angrily, she burrowed under her covers and turned off the light on her night stand.

"Good night, Percy," she bit out.

She heard Percy sigh. "Good night, Merri."

It took some time, but around 3am, Merri finally fell asleep.

* * *

The morning of the race was hot and humid. And, as much as most other campers were complaining about it mentally and out-loud, it simply reminded Merri of that one Christmas at her grandparents' a few years back. The worst the sauna-like fog was doing to her was making her hair go wild, which was why she tied in a messy bun with some chopsticks Jack brought to her from one of his many trips to Tokyo. She honestly had to start telling the man just how awesome he was. She nearly started full out giggling when she saw some of the girls from Aphrodite with their makeup running down their faces from both the humidity and the fact that they were sweating bullets from the heat.

Meanwhile, Merri was comfortably seated atop a random branch overlooking the racetrack-all the while eyeing those suspicious-looking pigeons that were surely not pigeons – in a pair of cargo shorts and a black _Durarara!_ Tee while Lucy alternated between sitting atop her head and in her lap.

The racetrack was built in a field between the archery range and the woods by the members of Hephaestus' cabin with the help of the bronze bulls – the creatures had been surprisingly tame and docile since having their heads smashed in – rendering the job of plowing in an oval track over in a matter of minutes. There were even rows of stone steps for the spectators – i.e. Tantalus, satyrs, few dryads and all nonparticipating campers. Mr. D didn't make an appearance – not surprising since he rarely got up before ten.

"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began assembling. Merri observed in amusement, all the while munching on a bag of blue-potato chips with sea salt and pepper, as Tantalus' hand chased a chocolate éclair across the judge's table. "You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!" He sent the contestants a creepy smile. "Any killing will result in a harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!"

"What an asshole," Merri sighed and devoured another fistful of crisps. She continued observing the preparations for the race below her. If anyone asked her, she had the best damn seat in here.

Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track. As one would expect, their chariot was made of bronze and iron, even the horses were metal – magical automatons like the Colchis bulls. Knowing those guys, the thing was undoubtedly rigged with all kinds of mechanical traps and fancy additional equipment. It wouldn't be a surprise if they'd put GPS or AC in there somewhere.

The Ares chariot was (surprise, surprise) blood red and pulled by two wicked looking horse skeletons. Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, caltrops, and a bunch of other toys.

The Apollo chariot was trim, graceful and completely gold, pulled by two beautiful palominos. If Merri's eyes weren't deceiving her, the horses were from her grandparents' farm or descendants of those that were. The cabin's fighter was unsurprisingly armed with a bow, though he'd promised not to fire pointed arrows at the opposing drivers. Hah, as if blunted arrows are unable do any damage. Give them enough speed and you can kill a person with them – simple physics.

Hermes' chariot was green and a bit on the older side. Despite it not looking very special, it was still manned by the Stoll brothers, and when those two are involved, there's n doubt the duo had a sleuth of dirty tricks up their sleeves. For a second there, Merri thought that it would've been more appropriate if she'd brought popcorn but it was too late for that.

Well, that only left two chariots: one driven by Annabeth, and the one driven by Percy.

"This might actually be entertaining; don't you think so, Lucy?" The cat in question simply meowed before burrowing further into Merri's lap and commencing to purr like a lawnmower. It was virtually impossible to fall asleep if she was doing that. "Hah, seems like Percy and Chase got in a little lover's spat over there. Wonder what it's about," Merri mused while observing the preparing contestants. "On second thought, I don't really care."

Sooner that she'd expected, the conch horn sounded.

"Charioteers!" Tantalus called. "To your mark!"

Was it just Merri's imagination or were those infernal metal birds multiplying? There were even more of them that there were when she arrived earlier, and they were screeching like crazy. The whole forest seemed to rustle with the sound. They'd even scared Lucy off with their noise! However, it seemed like nobody was paying them much attention – they were probably too focused on the race to do so – but they still made Merri's skin crawl in an unpleasant way. Those blasted beaks looked mighty sharp on those things. Now, all of Merri's attention was one the suspicious avian creatures littering the branches of the forest. So many were starting to gather up that people in the stands were starting to glance nervously at the trees shivering under the birds' weight, the noise caused by them reaching near deafening levels for Merri who was sitting close to them. Even Tantalus had to speak up to be heard over the noise.

"Charioteers!" he shouted. "Attend your mark!"

He waved his hand and the stating signal dropped. The chariots roared to life, hooves thundering against the dirt. The crowd cheered.

Almost immediately a loud crack resounded through the track. The Apollo chariot had flipped over, the Hermes chariot ramming into it – perhaps intentionally, perhaps not. The riders were thrown through the air, their panicking horses continued to drag the golden chariot diagonally across the track. The Stoll's, Travis and Connor, were laughing at their good luck but that too was to run out very soon as the Apollo horses crashed into them, flipping their chariot too and leaving them in a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust.

Two chariots down in the first twenty feet. She hated this sport. She hated seeing people get hurt. It was part of the reason she wanted to become a doctor.

Looking at her bag of crisps with regret, she heaved a sigh before jumping down from her perch and making her way towards the track.

Being the child of the god of horses – amongst other things – had its benefits, like Merri's ability to communicate with horses via a form of telepathy. She made quick work of calming down the Hermes and Apollo horses, bribing them with apples and sugar cubes before leading the four of them off the track. After tying the horses to the nearest tree, she returned to see if the four charioteers needed any help. The worst they seemed to have been hurt were a couple of shallow cuts and scrapes accompanied by the occasional bruise. 'Lucky bastards,' she thought to herself.

That was probably the moment that shit hit the proverbial fan. Looking over her shoulder to see how the race was going, Merri saw that the birds she was previously watching had risen from the trees in an impersonation of a big tornado of metal feathers. The birds swarmed the tack, dive-bombing the spectators in the stands and attacking the chariots. She saw Beckendorf get mobbed by them, his fighter desperately trying to bat the birds away despite not being able to see anything. Soon, their chariot veered off course, plowing right through the strawberry field while their mechanical horses steamed away. Merri would've gone to see if they were alright like she did with the previous two chariots, but was stopped in her track by a swarm of at least ten birds soaring right into her.

They knocked her down on her side, one of them digging its talons into her forearm leaving deep angry gashes on the scarred limb. The feeling of blood warmly flowing down her arm in stream, Merri tapped a random charm on her bracelet to summon a weapon and try to swat the birds away from her. Luckily for her, the charm she tapped was a bladed weapon, a Taijijian to be precise, and she swung it hitting three of the birds away.

A Taijijian is a straight two-edged Chinese sword used in the training of the martial art Taijiquan. It has a tassel attached to the pommel and makes a noise when hit by the opponent. A thinner version of the sword is used for theatrical purposes in Chinese street plays as to add visual appeal to the performance. But that's just trivial information here. Back to our matter at hand –crazy demonic metal birds attacking!

Merri used the momentary distraction to swiftly push herself to her feet and assume a proper stance. Blood was still flowing from the gashes making her grip on the sword slippery and hard to hold on but she was determined not to let those infernal birds get any closer to her that they already had.

In the background, she could hear the screams of the spectators in the stands. Apparently, they too had had an opportunity to experience just how sharp the beaks and talons were on the birds. Merri heard Annabeth yell that those were Stymphalian birds. 'Jeez thanks, not that I haven't figured it out for myself!' Alright, that may have made her sound like a real bitch seeing as the others probably didn't know that piece of information, but Merri was pissed – she was already moody enough from having to abandon her snack when the first two chariots crashed and now she was being attacked by crazy, metal, flesh-eating birds. Something told her she should've just stayed in bed today.

'Think, Merri! Think!' she mentally yelled at herself while swatting away at the birds. The things turned into gold dust the moment she managed to get a good slash in them but there were just too many of them. For every bird she destroyed, four took its place and Merri was quickly losing energy as well as blood. It wouldn't be too long before they manage to overpower her. She had to think, and _fast_!

'Think! What story are they from?! Stymphalian birds… Stypmhalian birds… Hercules! Oh, jeeze, what did he do to them? What did he do to them?... Noise! That's right! We'll need noise! Oh where is Mr. D. when you really need him?!'

Destroying three more birds, Merri saw Annabeth and Percy running for the Big House. Not sure whether they were running away or simply looking for a way to help, she continued slashing the birds down. She was more concerned with staying alive than the prospect of a couple of deserters.

All around her was complete and utter chaos. The chariots were in flames, wounded campers were running in all directions with birds following them. All the while, Tantalus was busy chasing breakfast pastries around the stands yelling, "Everything's under control! Not to worry!"

The moment the air was filled with the sounds of the All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin, the demon birds went berserk. They started flying into circles, slamming into each other before abandoning the track altogether and flying away in a huge dark wave.

"Now! Archers!" Annabeth shouted from somewhere on the track.

The Apollo archers started shooting at the retreating dark cloud. With their targets clear, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Within minutes, the ground was littered with dead bronze-beaked bird, the survivors a distant trail of smoke on the horizon.

Merri sighed in relief before falling down to her knees, her sword disappearing with a single tap of her fingers. She was running on pure adrenalin for the last few minutes and could now feel the ache of blood loss and being beaten around by metal birds settle deep in her bones. She was pretty sure her bruises had bruises.

'I'm getting too old for this shit,' flew through her head.

With no other quick solution, Merri focused the last of her strength and concentration into pulling as much water as she could from the air and surrounding grass to heal the gashes on her arm. The process managed to give her just enough energy to get up and tiredly limp back to her cabin to take a shower, Tantalus yelling at her back that she was to be punished for disrupting the race be damned. She merely flipped the immortal off and yelled at him to go chase a salad or something. She was going to deal with him some other time. Preferably, when she wasn't exhausted from fighting birds.

Another reason why she hates nearly anything with feathers added onto the ever growing list.

"I hate chariot racing," she muttered before turning on the shower.


End file.
